Author: Missionaries of Africa - Southern Africa Province (SAP) Page 59 of 113
Father Julien Cormier, Provincial of the Americas, informs you of the death of Brother Alphonse Daigneault, M. Afr.
He died in the infirmary of the convent of the Capuchin Friars in Montreal, on the 24th of October 2014, at the age of 91 years of which 63 of missionary life in Zambia and Canada.
Let us pray for him and his family.
The campaign is going on for quite some time. Videos are now accessible through the Facebook Page of the Campaign for a People Driven Constitution in Zambia by clicking on https://www.facebook.com/grandcoalitionzambia
See the video of Father Cleophas Lungu
Coincidence or not, the Draft Constitution was released on the 23rd October, eve of the 50th Anniversary of the independence of Zambia. See below the Jubilee Pastoral Statement from the Christian Church Mother Bodies:
Constitution of Zambia Technical Committee – 23rd October, 2014 (PDF File 226 pages)
Joint Pastoral Statement on the occasion of celebrating ZAM BIA’S fifteen Anniversary of Independence – The Golden Jubilee (19 pages)
A Shorter Version of the Joint Golden Jubilee Pastoral Statement from the Three Church Mother Bodies (5 pages)
Coincidence or not, the Draft Constitution was released on the 23rd October, eve of the 50th Anniversary of the independence of Zambia. See below the Jubilee Pastoral Statement from the Christian Church Mother Bodies:
Constitution of Zambia Technical Committee – 23rd October, 2014 (PDF File 226 pages)
Joint Pastoral Statement on the occasion of celebrating ZAM BIA’S fifteen Anniversary of Independence – The Golden Jubilee (19 pages)
A Shorter Version of the Joint Golden Jubilee Pastoral Statement from the Three Church Mother Bodies (5 pages)
Happy Zambian Golden Jubilee!
A united peace and loving Zambia with people of vision, hardworking and discipline will make all Zambian loving peace call it ONE ZAMBIA ONE NATION!
From Bro. Chimpali Mutale Clenerius (Folela), M.Afr
Happy Golden Jubilee to motherland Zambia.
We pray for Zambia and its people. It has been a blessing and we thank God.
May god bless Zambia always will peace, justice and good governance!
In prayer!
From Camille Konkobo, M.Afr
Happy Golden jubilee to Mother Zambia and to you all my brother. May the same peace Zambia has enjoyed prevail in our hearts and MAY OTHER COUNTRIES LIKE MALI know such peace.
United in prayer.
From Fr. Kambole Remmy, M.Afr
Pretoria, 24 October 2014
Dear fellow country men and women,
Today marks a mile stone in the history of our great Nation mother Zambia- a country that was a corner stone for liberation to other African countries especially those in the SADC region. The tenacity shown by our leaders to rally us behind our national motto One Zambia One Nation made it even possible for us to foster unity, peace and prosperity. Today indeed is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it, let us celebrate, rejoice and commemorate all our unsung heroes and sung heroes. Most of our leaders that played a huge role are no longer with us the likes of Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Harry Nkumbula, mama Chikamoneka to mention a few may they rest in peace and to those that are still alive today who were under the charismatic leadership of Dr. Kenneth Kaunda may they too be blessed.
To our former leadership that brought us into a second phase the late Dr. Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa SC may they rest in peace and may the Lord forgive them for any wrong they may have committed on this earth either in executing their duties or living with other people. May the Lord bless our former 4th democratically elected President Rupiah Banda and bless our current 5th democratically elected President Michael Sata and those serving under his leadership that they may put the interest of serving our people first so that the gains of our forefathers and mothers should not go in vain.
This is the time to foster unity of common purpose to strive towards uniting Zambians in the country and those in diaspora. We have come a long way and indeed we have been blessed with peace and we know a lot still needs to be done a country wherein Zambians shall be able to live and access good health care, education, food security, water and sanitation, employment etc. Our country had shown determination and good will in assisting other countries in our SADC region to be liberated and this calls to mind that we should now take our country into the 3rd phase that is to become an economic hub in SADC region and later in Africa and the world, we should strive towards achieving long sustainable economic development programs that shall be reflected in the lives of the citizenry. My fellow country men and women let us take charge and become part of building our country from where our forefathers and mothers had left it.
We cannot dare forget our unity in diversity so wherever you are as a Zambian please play an active role in continuing that motto One Zambia One Nation we cannot afford to be divided and our country to become unstable so together as true patriots we shall indeed make our nation a beacon of hope to other countries as it was during the liberation days.
May the Lord our God continue blessing our country and we pray. Let there be peace and prosperity in our great Nation mother Zambia.
Happy golden jubilee
Shalom
From Rev. Fr. Peter Chungu
Parish Priest & Diocesan Youth -ACTS Chaplain
St. Jude Catholic Church, King William’s Town, South Africa
Canisius Bindaba was celebrating recently his 31st birthday and sent us a word from Burundi. He made his apostolic training (stage) in Kasamba, Zambia, in 2010 up to 2012. Here below his message from home.
Thank you a lot ba Father.
It is a great pleasure to receive a message from your part of the world, especially from my great White Fathers family. I am in Burundi since I left Zambia. I got a job in the telecom as a corporate Supervisor. I also initiated a wide program for setting up youth communities with the aim of creating development community projects. The vision is intended to sustain social cohesion, peace consolidation and integral development based on tangible and concrete initiatives.
I intend to create a vocational job training centre where those guys could come for Internet research or get some practical courses to respond to the requests of the created youth communities. It sounds a bit silly but I pray hard to see my dreams coming true one day.
Even though I have left my formation with the Missionaries of Africa, I am always moved from within when I find news about the missionaries.
May the Good Lord be with you all!
Please pray for this dream of mine so that God may be praised in what I wish to achieve for the rest of my life. I really want to do something that would make a difference in a similar way as I was expecting to do with the Society of the M.Afr.
Lesa atupale amate!
Best regards!
Canisius Bindaba
Stephen Kajay was a stagiaire in Mua, Malawi, in 2008. He is now married with Amala Jothi and happy to be the father of a beautiful girl called Julie Vimal. The family lives in Chennai, India.
“I am writing this mail to inform you about the baptism for my daughter that was held on 14th September 2014. I am very thankful to Father Johnson Singarajan, M.Afr who baptised my daughter. Years ago, we joined together the M.Afr although we are traveling now in different directions. He is the one honouring the old promise that we made when we were at S.O.L.A. Candidates’ House in Bangalore. He really made the Sunday celebration wonderful and we had a long exchange. It was really nice spending time with him. I have attached the photos of the baptism. Once again, thank you for your prayers.”
Stephen Kajay
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- Stephen Kajay 2008 in Mua, Malawi
Aujourd’hui, les Missionnaires d’Afrique de l’Ouest vous proposent de visiter de nouvelles pages sur leur site www.mafrwestafrica.net :
Dans la rubrique « Actualités » :
« Les confrères présents dans la P.A.O. » : le 1er octobre 2014, il y a dans la Province 93 confrères, 89 pères et 4 frères, ainsi que 26 stagiaires. Cliquer sur le lien suivant pour consulter cette liste mise à jour, par ordre alphabétique. (lire la suite)
« Le livret du personnel» : cet article complète le précédent puisqu’il permet d’avoir accès au livret du personnel de la Province, réparti par communautés et par secteur. Il fournit également un lien internet pour avoir accès à la liste des confrères originaires de la Province, qui vient elle aussi d’être mise à jour. (lire la suite)
« Le nouveau Conseil Provincial » : la liste des Missionnaires d’Afrique qui ont été élus par leurs confrères pour les représenter (3 personnes par secteur) – Le dit conseil provincial est d’ailleurs en réunion lors de la publication de cette lettre. (lire la suite)
« Le Synode sur la famille » : un lien avec le dossier du journal « La Croix », ainsi que l’opinion d’un théologien africain originaire du Congo. Ceci en attendant d’avoir dans le futur des comptes-rendus plus détaillés de ce que cette rencontre a apporté à l’Église (lire la suite)
Dans la rubrique « Vu au sud, vu du sud » :
« La confiture de lait » un article paru sur le site www.abcburkina.net et qui décrit quelques expériences faites par des éleveurs pour mettre à profit leur production de lait en fabriquant une pâte à tartiner qui a l’avantage de se conserver longtemps. (lire la suite)
Dans la rubrique « Dialogue interreligieux » :
« Dialoguer, une nécessité bienfaisante » cinq articles parus dans le dernier bulletin (n° 92) de l’ARCRE (Action pour la Rencontre des Cultures et des Religions en Europe) et qui permettent de prendre ou reprendre conscience que le dialogue existe bel et bien, malgré l’actualité préoccupante par sa violence et son intolérance. (lire la suite)
« Mon cheminement de musulman ». L’expérience de Sani Suleiman, dont le désir était de mieux connaître le catholicisme et qui est venu à Rome dans ce but pour étudier. Il était hébergé chez les Missionnaires d’Afrique. (lire la suite)
Dans la rubrique « Justice et Paix » :
« Vie difficile des enfants africains » un des textes parus dans le dernier numéro de « Voix d’Afrique » (n° 104) paru en septembre 2014 (lire la suite)
Dans la rubrique « Témoignages » :
« Deux mois à Jérusalem », un texte dans lequel le Père Georges Paquet, qui était à l’accueil des pèlerins à Jérusalem en été 2014 partage ce qu’il y a vécu, et les réflexions venues de cette expérience. (lire la suite)
« C’est le prêtre qui t’a flatté ? » ou la nécessité de participer véritablement et intérieurement à l’eucharistie, et de se laisser transformer par l’Esprit. (lire la suite)
The Fingers of Thomas, a group linked to FENZA under the leadership of Fr. Bernhard Udelhoven are continuing their good work of enlightening Christian communities on the issue of witchcraft. Four of them – Philip Lupiah, Michael Chanda, Evarist Manya and Fr. Bernhard Udelhoven – accompanied by Fr. Romaric Bationo of FENZA, stepped away from their personal jobs and busy schedules, to facilitate two seminars in Chikowa and Lumimba parishes, Chipata diocese, from the 1st to 11th October 2014. These seminars were the initiative of Fr. Bwezani Phiri, the Episcopal Vicar for the Luangwa Valley.
The first three-day seminar took place at Chikowa Parish from the 1st to the 4th of October. It attracted 51 church leaders from various outstations, the priests of the parish and 2 Comboni novices. In Lumimba Parish, it is 32 lay leaders with their 3 priests and the M.Afr Stagiaire who attended the workshop from 6th – 10th October.
The Fingers of Thomas: Fr. Bernhard Udelhoven, Evarist Manya, Michael Chanda, Philip Lupiah and John Zulu from Caritas Chipata were the featured presenters. The Fingers of Thomas expounded on the fundamental issues of witchcraft which are beliefs in evil spirits, magic, the reality of fear, the recourse to traditional medicine. Their presentations struck a chord with the participants, when the Fingers elucidated the realms of witchcraft; explained clearly that fear is at the core of black magic; unravelled some of the manipulatory tricks of witch-finders. John Zulu talked about the Witchcraft Act. Each day was well winded-up with a prayerful liturgy at night around the theme of the day.
Ultimately, the seminars stressed clearly that no matter the causes and forms of witchcraft, and amid its mysteries and disorders the power of God through Jesus Christ overcomes witchcraft. Christ is victorious and true faith in Him and being at the service of His Kingdom brings freedom, healing, justice, peace and reconciliation.
The issues tackled, the well-articulated presentations, the joy, the approbation and the gratefulness of the participants at the end of every seminar are a clear indication that the Fingers of Thomas are doing a remarkable and well appreciated work of JPIC-ED. Their next outreach will be in Mansa Diocese!
Reportage from Romaric Bationo, M.Afr
Greetings from JCTR,
We are happy as always to share with you the 2014 September Basic Needs Basket for Lusaka and accompanying Press Releases about our pre and post 2015 budget position. We hope this information is helpful for you.
To get more on this and other JCTR activities, please visit our Website. We also invite you to visit our well stocked resource room for your research and other information needs.Do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions, requests or comments. We always appreciate your feedback on how you are using the Basket. Mwiinga Shimilimo (Miss) Media and Information Officer Basic Needs Basket for Chipata Basic Needs Basket for Kasama Basic Needs Basket for Kitwe Basic Needs Basket for Mongu Basic Needs Basket for Ndola
Pilgrimage Spirituality. A Journey into Liminarity
The feast of Eid-ul-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), the feast par excellence for the Muslims (Eid-al-Kabîr), in remembrance of the Sacrifice of Abraham, was celebrated on the 4th October 2014. Thousands of Muslims from all over the world made a pilgrimage (al-hajj) to fulfil one of the five pillars of Islam. What a blessed coincidence that it fell on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a saint for the promotion of interreligious dialogue!
Today, many believers living in multi-faith contexts are searching for a spirituality that can help them to ‘come closer’ to their fellow human pilgrims and in a special way to believers of other faiths with whom they share so much in common. Pilgrimage spirituality which is taught and practiced in different religions could be a major contribution to such a spirituality promoting inter-faith peaceful and constructive co-existence.
Speaking about pilgrimage, the anthropologist V. William TURNER says: “A pilgrimage liberates a person from the obligatory everyday constraints of status and role, also from our personal stories, our personal triumphs and defeats, and we are enabled to become ourselves again in a new model of human brotherhood. It is a journey into LIMINARITY, where we will acquire new insights about life, about mission, about God, others and ourselves.”
Is this ‘journey into liminarity’ not the journey that Abraham, our father in faith, obediently took in response to God’s command as narrated in the Bible: “Leave your country, your family and your father’s house for the land I will show you.” (Gen 12: 1)? Isn’t it the same journey we have to take in order to build a ‘new model of human brotherhood’ in our globalised indifference and violence?
Nnyombi Richard, M.Afr
Content of the Bulletin: Click on this link
News from the Society and Elsewhere
World Day of Peace 2015
The UN of Religions (4th Sept. 2014)
African Interfaith Initiative on Post-2015 Development / United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC)
First text – PDF file
Second text – PDF file
Synod on the family (5th – 19th October 2014)
Visit of Pope Francis to Turkey (28th – 30th November 2014)
Lire le Bulletin en Français en cliquant sur : Spiritualité du Pèlerinage. Un Chemin vers la « Liminarity »
Francis Kangwa has left Lusaka this morning going to Uganda, more specifically to Katakwi in the Diocese of Soroti. It will be his first experience in that part of the world. Being asked what would be his mission over there, he answered: “It is a challenging one first and foremost the language will be new and the environment seems tough. But I am ready as it is really missionary area.”
We wish him good and fruitful mission in his new home at Katakwi. Francis was the Vocation Director in Zambia for the past six years. Many thanks to you Francis for your wonderful work done in your home country as many youths were touched by your joyful faith. We hope to hear from you again soon.